The Orioles’ depth has often prompted manager Brandon Hyde to say he has 13 position players he wants to play. But excluding the designated hitter, he can put only eight on the field at a given time.
Hyde, though, was not interested in dissecting which combination of eight would represent his best defensive lineup.
“It’s like saying ‘Who do you like better?’” Hyde said. “I got Gold Glovers all over the place.
“The four guys that are sitting today probably are going to be playing tomorrow. … Good problems to have. I feel comfortable with everybody, to be honest with you.”
That’s understandable. Hyde’s roster features two quality catchers, a pair of capable first basemen, five versatile infielders and four talented outfielders. The flexibility throughout creates questions of not only who the Orioles’ best eight defenders are but also where they should play in that ideal alignment.
Take rookie infielder Jordan Westburg, who has made 22 appearances at second base and 18 at third since his debut in June and has impressed Hyde at each spot. He ranked as the Orioles’ leader in Statcast’s outs above average at both positions entering Tuesday.
In spring training and this week, Westburg acknowledged that he feels more comfortable at second than third; he played the latter more during his minor league career, but he spent more time at second growing up and finds that it’s more similar to his most commonly played position of shortstop.
With Gunnar Henderson and Jorge Mateo available, Westburg hasn’t played shortstop in the majors, flipping between its two neighbors with aplomb. Given that Hyde has five infielders for three spots, Westburg isn’t in the lineup every day, a role the 2020 first-round pick described as “different than anything else I’ve had in my career.”
“I think that’s fair to say,” Westburg said. “It’s also fair to say that everybody in here contributes and deserves to play every single day, so it’s one of those things where it’s impossible to be upset about.
“It’s easy to understand the days that you’re not playing and the days that you are playing because whether it’s a matchup thing or whether it’s a guy that’s swinging a hot bat or whatever. I think this clubhouse is just built in a way that nobody has an ego about playing time.”
Hyde has capitalized on that mindset among his players to give them frequent rest days and piece together lineups for optimum offensive matchups. Late in games, he’s at times used his bench to deploy better defenders, often replacing Anthony Santander in right field, but unless an offensive opportunity forces a change, he’s typically let his starting infield finish games.
In that sense, Hyde has not often shown his hand on what defensive mix he considers Baltimore’s best. At many positions, it’s not clear-cut.
The Orioles have been pleased with what they’ve gotten from backup backstop James McCann. In Sunday’s series-clinching victory against Seattle, his 10th-inning mound visit with Shintaro Fujinami brought the dynamic right-hander into the strike zone to earn his first career save. But young star Adley Rutschman rates as the superior blocker, framer and thrower, according to Baseball Savant.
Ryan Mountcastle joins Rutschman and center fielder Cedric Mullins as the Orioles’ only position players who haven’t appeared at multiple defensive positions, becoming a first baseman with a fall down the defensive spectrum that included stops at shortstop, third base and left field. Advanced defensive metrics are split between him and O’Hearn as Baltimore’s top defensive first baseman, but Hyde has possibly hinted at his preference when putting both in the lineup.
O’Hearn hasn’t DH’d with Mountcastle at first since June 6, while Mountcastle has been the DH in eight of O’Hearn’s past nine starts at first base. In 31 second-half games, O’Hearn has started 16 games at first to Mountcastle’s 14, with Santander also drawing one.
But that could be a product of putting O’Hearn at DH being a waste of his ability to play the corner outfield if needed. His ability to do so has helped to also get Mountcastle into the lineup, give Santander partial days off at DH and allow Rutschman to DH on days he doesn’t catch.
“Being versatile and being able to get your name in the lineup in any way possible is valuable,” O’Hearn said.
The Orioles’ other infielders agree. Henderson had defensive issues to start his rookie year, but since the start of May, he’s tied with Westburg as Baltimore’s best infielder by being worth five outs above average for his work at shortstop and third; he has the third-strongest throwing arm of any second baseman, third baseman or shortstop in the majors, according to Baseball Savant. His increased playing time at the last of those positions has led to some time in center field for Jorge Mateo, who led American League shortstops in OAA last season and won the Fielding Bible Award.
Ramón Urías’ fielding was also recognized last season, as he joined Brooks Robinson and Manny Machado as Baltimore third basemen to win a Gold Glove. After being worth 7 OAA there in 2022, he’s at minus-6 this year, and has also seen time at first and second. Adam Frazier’s defense has fallen off, too, with his minus-15 OAA being the third worst of 155 qualified infielders after rating positively at second base each season since 2018. But the veteran has also provided his share of clutch highlights while sporadically playing the outfield.
There, the Orioles have four trusted defenders. When healthy, Mullins has provided elite defense in center field, best evidenced by Sunday’s robbery of what would have been a game-tying home run in Seattle. Austin Hays ranks second among left fielders in defensive runs saved, offering a strong arm and the range required to handle Camden Yards’ expansive left field.
A Gold Glove finalist in 2020, Santander is perhaps an underrated defender, rating positively in defensive runs saved and neutral in OAA over the past two seasons. Signed as a replacement for Mullins after his initial right quad strain, Aaron Hicks arrived with a reputation as a solid defender, bringing one of baseball’s best outfield arms and the capability of handling all three positions.
Hyde has reason to trust all of these players, a fact that should help the Orioles to keep them fresh as they prepare for a postseason run.
“We have a lot of roster flexibility and versatility and guys that can play a lot of different spots,” Hyde said. “Every night, good players are on the bench.
“It’s nice to have that luxury.”
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